In modern poultry production, newly hatched chicks have no contact with maternal feces and so no maternal spectrum of antigens is present. In this situation, chicks can be affected by a number of pathogenic intestinal microorganisms, and fortifying diets with prebiotics can alleviate this problem. This experiment evaluates the effect on the performance, carcass characteristics and some blood parameters of the chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar chukar) of dietary supplementation with a prebiotic (Fermacto). Eighty day-old mixed sex chicks in a completely randomized design with two treatments (with or without 0.18% Fermacto) and four replicates of 10 birds each was used. The experimental period lasted 16 weeks in two phases of starter (0-8 weeks) and grower (9-16 weeks). Performance data recorded biweekly and carcass characteristics and some blood parameters were measured at the end of the experiment. Data revealed that the supplementation of Fermacto significantly (P<0.05) increased breast and gastrointestinal tract percentages, decreased the back-neck percentage, lowered blood triglyceride and total cholesterol and increased blood calcium levels in 668 J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 88, E-Suppl. 2/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 93, E-Suppl. 1/Poult. Sci. Vol. 89, E-Suppl. 1 the Fermacto-treated group. Under the conditions of this study, it was concluded that the dietary supplementation of 0.18% Fermacto might offer some beneficial effects in chukar partridges to improve their carcass quality and some blood parameters.

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